Forging press

ABSTRACT

A forging press has a base structure with an opening extending therethrough, a frame member positioned in the opening and projecting from opposite sides of the base member, a hydraulic ram acting between the base and frame members to displace the frame member relative to the base member and a cover member removably secured to the base member serves to close off substantially all of the remaining part of the opening which is not filled by the frame member. One advantage of this construction is that the frame member can be manufactured completely at the place of manufacture and taken to the site and positioned in the opening in the base member. The remaining part of the opening is then closed off by the cover member.

United States Patent 1191 Ross et a1. Apr. 9, ,1974

[ FORGING PRESS 3,468,155 9/1969 Ross ..72/456 1 1 Keith Ross, sheffield; 31123342 351964 821132;... 751422 Hemingway, Dronfield, near 3,243,988 4/1966 GIOOS 72/455 Sheffield, both of England Davy and United Engineering Company Limited, Sheffield, England Filed: June 23, 1972 Appl. No.: 265,502

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data June 30, 1971 Great Britain 30582/71 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1968 Pahnke 72/453 11/1955 Albers 100/269 R Primary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham Assistant ExaminerGene P. Crosby Attorney, Agent, or FirmBrisebois & Kruger 5 7] ABSTRACT A forging press has a base structure with an opening extending therethrough, a frame member positioned in the opening and projecting from opposite sides of the base member, a hydraulic ram acting between the base and frame members to displace the frame member relative to the base member and a cover member removably secured to the base member serves to close off substantially all of the remaining part of the opening which is not filled by the frame member. One advantage of this construction is that the frame member can be manufactured completely at the place of manufacture and taken to the site and positioned in the opening in the base member. The remaining part of the opening is then closed off by the cover member.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures FORGING PRESS The invention relates to forging presses. A forging press consists essentially of a movable frame member adapted to carry one of the press tools and means for displacing the frame member in such a direction that the press tool carried by the member 'is movable towards and away from a fixed press tool so that a workpiece positioned on the fixed tool is forged between the tools.

It is usual for the frame member to be mounted for vertical movement and a massive base structure is provided to support and guide the frame member and to support the fixed press tool. The base structure has a pair of openings extending therethrough and the col.- umns or limbs of the frame member extend through the openings. The columns of the frame are connected at their upper and lower ends by a pair of cross heads.

To assemble the press, the base structure is mounted on a foundation, the two columns are positioned one in each of the openings and the cross heads are then securedto the upper and lower ends of the columns. With this construction the frame member cannot be made as a single unit but the parts have to be made separately and the frame member assembled on site.

It is clearly advantageous for the frame member to be made in one piece, or at least assembled during construction at the place of manufacture, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a press construction which enables the frame member as a whole to be introduced into the base structure.

According to the present invention a forging press comprises a base structure adapted for mounting on a foundation and having an opening extending therethrough, a frame member positioned in the opening and projecting from opposite sides of the base structure, a hydraulic ram acting between the base structure and the frame to bring about displacement of the frame relative to the base structure and a cover member removably secured to the base structure and serving to close off substantially all of the remaining part of the opening not filled by the frame member.

The hydraulic ram conveniently comprises a piston and cylinder assembly with the cylinder supported by the cover member. The cover member conveniently supports the fixed press tool on the side of the member which is opposite the cylinder.

The cover plate or other plates removably secured to the base structure conveniently carry guides for guiding the frame member.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, it will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through a forging press according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section view on the line lI-II of FIG. 1, and

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show the components of the press in various stages of assembly.

A draw-down forging press comprises a base structure 2 fabricated from plate material. The base strucopenings 4 of the base structure and projects from opposite sides of the base structure. The frame member comprises a pair of columns orlimbs 8A and 8B arranged vertically and secured at their upper and lower ends by a pair of cross heads 9. Downward movement of the frame member 8 relative to the base structure 2 is effected by means of a hydraulic ram 14 which includes a cylinder 16 and a piston not shown. The cylinder 16 is secured to a cover plate 18 which is removably secured to the upper surface of the plate 2A. The

' cylinder 16 projects downwardly from the plate and the ture comprises a pair of plates 2A and 2B separated by an upstanding wall member 3. Each of the plates has an opening 4 extending therethrough and a pair of holes 6 are provided in the upper plate, one at each end of the opening 4. A frame member 8 is located within the piston bears against the lower cross head 9. The plate 18 acts as a cover which overlies most of the space of the openings4 which is not taken up by the limbs of the frame 8. A pair of piston and cylinder units 30 extend through the holes 6 in the base structure and the pistons are secured to a pair of lugs extending outwardly I from the limbs 8A and 8B and the units serve to provide upward return movement of the frame member 8. The lugs may be integral with the frame or they may be removably secured to the frame.

To assemble the press, the base structure 2, which is shown in more detail in FIG. 3, is first secured to its foundation with the openings 4 and the holes 6 positioned above a pit in the foundation. The frame 8 as a whole is lowered vertically by means of a crane through the openings 4 as shown in FIG. 4. The frame is suitably supported in that position and the ram 14 together with the plate 18 is passed into the window defined by the frame and lowered vertically until the plate 18 rests, as previously described, on the top face of the base structure 2. The plate 18 is then bolted to the top of the base structure and the piston of the ram 14 is brought into engagement with the lower cross head 9. The lugs on the lower cross head 9 are then added, if they are not integral with the cross head, and the piston-cylinder units 30 are added to the assembly and their pistons are connected to the lugs. Guide members 24 carried by projections 22 from the cylinder 16 are then added to guide the columns 8A and 8B of the frame. The plate 18 carries a pair of blocks 20 to which shoes 10 are mounted and these shoes serve to guide the columns 8A and 8B in the vicinity of the base structure. Further plates 26 are bolted to the top surface of the base structure 2 and these plates carry further blocks 28 upon which further guide members in the form of shoes 12 are mounted.

The basic press is then complete and the tool slides and tool holders are mounted on the plate 18 and the hydraulic connections are provided. If it is found necessary to strengthen the base structure 2 against outward movement of the two longer sides, tie rods may be positioned in the base structure and connected between the longer sides after the frame member has been positioned in the opening 4. The tie rods may be located through the window of the frame member adjacent the columns.

It will be seen that the construction of the press ac-' cording to the present invention enables a comparatively inexpensive press to be manufactured so far as concerns the manufacture, erection and maintenance. The frame 8 may be a one piece casting or the limbs may be connected to the cross heads, at the place of manufacture, by the slag welding technique.

We claim:

1. A forging press comprising:

a base structure adapted for mounting horizontally on a foundation and defining an opening extending vertically therethrough, said opening being generally rectangular in plan,

a frame member comprising a pair of spaced apart 5 vertical columns Connected at their opposite ends by a pair of crossheads with each column having a pair of opposite vertical surfaces spaced apart by a distance less than the smaller dimension of the opening in the base structure and the overall width of the frame member between the outer vertical surfaces of the two columns being less than the longer dimension of the opening in the base structure, the frame member being located in the opening with the columns vertical and the crossheads on opposite sides of the base structure,

a cover plate positioned between the columns and re movably secured to the base structure so as to close off substantially all of the opening between the columns, and

a hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly connected to act vertically between the base structure and the frame member so as to displace the frame member relative to the base structure.

2. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base structure comprises a pair of metal plates positioned one above the other in spaced apartrelation and secured together by a continuous upstanding wall and with each plate defining a generally rectangular opening therethrough with the openings in the two plates aligned vertically.

4. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 including at least one further hydraulic unit mounted on the base structure and acting between the base structure and the frame member to displace the frame member in the direction opposite to which the frame member is displaced by the piston and cylinder assembly during the forging stroke of the press.

5. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 including guide means carried by the cylinder of the piston and cylinder assembly at a position away from the cover plate, said guide means guiding the columns of the frame member.

6. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 including guide means carried by the cover plate, said guide means guiding the columns of the frame member.

7. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 in which the columns and the cross heads of the frame member comprise a single casting.

8. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 in which the columns and the cross heads of the frame member are welded together.

cylinder of the piston-cylinder assembly is supported by the cover plate and the piston is connected to one of the crossheads of the frame member.

3. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 wherein the 

1. A forgiNg press comprising: a base structure adapted for mounting horizontally on a foundation and defining an opening extending vertically therethrough, said opening being generally rectangular in plan, a frame member comprising a pair of spaced apart vertical columns connected at their opposite ends by a pair of crossheads with each column having a pair of opposite vertical surfaces spaced apart by a distance less than the smaller dimension of the opening in the base structure and the overall width of the frame member between the outer vertical surfaces of the two columns being less than the longer dimension of the opening in the base structure, the frame member being located in the opening with the columns vertical and the crossheads on opposite sides of the base structure, a cover plate positioned between the columns and removably secured to the base structure so as to close off substantially all of the opening between the columns, and a hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly connected to act vertically between the base structure and the frame member so as to displace the frame member relative to the base structure.
 2. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cylinder of the piston-cylinder assembly is supported by the cover plate and the piston is connected to one of the crossheads of the frame member.
 3. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base structure comprises a pair of metal plates positioned one above the other in spaced apart relation and secured together by a continuous upstanding wall and with each plate defining a generally rectangular opening therethrough with the openings in the two plates aligned vertically.
 4. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 including at least one further hydraulic unit mounted on the base structure and acting between the base structure and the frame member to displace the frame member in the direction opposite to which the frame member is displaced by the piston and cylinder assembly during the forging stroke of the press.
 5. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 including guide means carried by the cylinder of the piston and cylinder assembly at a position away from the cover plate, said guide means guiding the columns of the frame member.
 6. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 including guide means carried by the cover plate, said guide means guiding the columns of the frame member.
 7. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 in which the columns and the cross heads of the frame member comprise a single casting.
 8. A forging press as claimed in claim 1 in which the columns and the cross heads of the frame member are welded together. 